Mentor's Reality

April 19, 2015.

"It was the worse trip I had to take in my life, a trip where I had to leave my home, all my belongings. I remember a tear in the eye of my old neighbor and the shadows of a homeland that we may never come back to."

"Here in the refugee camp, our new reality: “refugees.” There were times when we would be so frustrated it turned into self-pity, and everything around us seemed to have only a black color. At those points we could have been thinking, this is the end of the journey!"

"Except, it’s not!"

"When you meet...MORE

A New Beginning to a New Story

April 19, 2015.

A new chapter is getting ready to start in the story of those who have been waiting for light at the end of a dark tunnel, and new doors of hope are about to open for those who lost their keys.

Sixty new centers for Non-Formal Education are about to open their doors for more than 3000 children pushed on the edge of life by war and poverty. Who lost their right to sit and learn like children in normal circumstances should at their age.

Questscope and the Jordanian Ministry of Education have initiated a new level of strategic partnership  with this project, as an example...MORE

“Once upon a time….”

March 18, 2015.

With these words one of the children described his experience in participating in one of Questscope’s activities, which became a story to tell according to this young boy, with much experience and morals to learn and tell the others.

As simple as these activities are, as much influence it had on the mind and spirit of these young children. Those children have been forced from their homes, and have suffered the brutality of war, yet now they can see the world colorful again.

Those activities where held and performed by Questscope as a part of a mentoring project in...MORE

Jean Vanier Wins Templeton Prize

March 18, 2015.

Questscope congratulates Jean Vanier, recipient of the 2015 Templeton Prize. The esteemed award honors a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works. Vanier is the founder of L’Arche International, a global network of residential communities in which people with and without disabilities share their lives.

 Vanier is a longtime friend of Questscope, and mentor who has inspired our team and our work with disadvantaged youth. He emphasizes empowerment and healing through...MORE

Hand-in-hand....to pray.

February 24, 2015.

No words can describe my feelings about what happened to Muath, our Jordanian pilot. I had two distinct pains when I saw the video. The first pain was that of seeing a human being burned alive inside a metal cage. The second pain was that of seeing a Muslim burned alive ostensibly in the name of Islam.

Those who killed the pilot believed that after the video of burning Muath was broadcast, Jordanians would start burning Jordan in response. On the next day at noon, when people were going to pray for Muath, I was walking to the mosque during the call to prayer. At...MORE

No Lost Generation

February 17, 2015.

 Not only war and displacement can create a violent generation but also isolation would enhance the chances of creating at risk youth and socially alienated girls and boys.       

 No Lost Generation is the name of the new project Questscope is working on, in cooperation with Mercy Corps, mentoring around 200 Jordanian and Syrian Children, in 2 cities in Northern Jordan.

 Labeled as violent or socially alienated, would only make it harder for these boys...MORE

Light on the Horizon

February 17, 2015.

For many of the estimated 100,000 Jordanian youth who have dropped out of school, the choice to leave school was not much of a choice at all. Lack of support in the school led to underperformance led to a kind-of choice to leave. Outside school, more frustration and struggle to survive led to desperation - where to go, who to turn to? Once out of the "system," the doors slam on opportunities for better academic and professional futures.

For Syrian refugee youth in Jordan, there was even less of a choice. In fact,...MORE

The Story & the Glory: Reducing Youth Radicalism & Violence in the Middle East

January 26, 2015.

Questscope founder Dr. Curt Rhodes talks to Creative Associates about reducing youth radicalism and violence in the Middle East:

In a world gone awry in war and conflict, with few economic opportunities and degradation of social networks, youth are radicalized and sustained in their radicalization through their relationships: the way into radicalization is through relationships.

But so is the way out.

Every person has a story. Taking time to listen and elicit someone’s story is...MORE

A Safe Place

January 13, 2015.

In moments of stress and tragedy, we look for a safe place. For Amer, 16 years old, that safe place used to be his school and his home in Syria.

 When his family left Syria to come to Jordan’s Zaatari camp, those safe places were ripped away from him one by one. He was not able to go to school. His father had been injured and lost his brother in the war. The stress his family felt was redirected toward him, and Amer was confined to home and often abused. His home, the only place he could go, was no longer a safe place at all.

 Amer used to love to study,...MORE

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